Purpose: This study develops and validates a scale that comprehensively evaluates intellectual and social development and emotional and behavioral problems in children ages 2 to 5.Methods: The Korean Toddler Mental Health Screening Test (K-TMHST) encompasses 5 domains to assess intellectual (language, motor, and social development), emotional (mood and affect), and behavioral (attention and activity) problems. After informed consent, we recruited 1,080 adult guardians aged 18 years or older with children aged 2–5 years (24–71 months), and they answered a K-TMHST. We examined reliability, construct validity, and criterion-related validity to explore the psychometric properties.Results: The reliability was good to excellent. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a 5-factorial solution for the symptom subscales supporting construct validity. Criterion-related validity was generally satisfactory in that all subscales of the K-TMHST showed significant correlations with relevant measures in the expected direction.Conclusion: The K-TMHST is a newly developed parent-report questionnaire with good psychometric properties. The K-TMHST can contribute to early and accurate screening of such problems in Korea, which can be a starting point for timely and effective prevention and intervention.
Kang et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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